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Life 3.0

By: Max Tegmark
Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
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About this listen

Penguin Audio presents Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark, read by Rob Shapiro.

We stand at the beginning of a new era. What was once science fiction is fast becoming reality, as AI transforms war, crime, justice, jobs and society-and, even, our very sense of what it means to be human. More than any other technology, AI has the potential to revolutionize our collective future - and there's nobody better situated to explore that future than Max Tegmark, an MIT professor and co-founder of the Future of Life Institute, whose work has helped mainstream research on how to keep AI beneficial. In this deeply researched and vitally important new book, Tegmark takes us to the heart of thinking about AI and the human condition, bringing us face to face with the essential questions of our time. What sort of future do we want? Life 3.0 gives us the tools to join what may be the most important conversation of our time.

©2018 Rob Shapiro (P)2018 Penguin Audio Computer Science History & Culture Machine Theory & Artificial Intelligence Philosophy Science Technology & Society Inspiring Artificial Intelligence Data Science Thought-Provoking Robotics Machine Learning

Critic Reviews

All of us - not only scientists, industrialists and generals-should ask ourselves what can we do now to improve the chances of reaping the benefits of future AI and avoiding the risks. This is the most important conversation of our time, and Tegmark's thought-provoking book will help you join it (Prof. Stephen Hawking)
This is a rich and visionary book and everyone should read it. (Oliver Moody)
I was riveted by this book. The transformational consequences of AI may soon be upon us­-but will they be utopian or catastrophic? The jury is out, but this enlightening, lively and accessible book by a distinguished scientist helps us to assess the odds. (Prof. Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, cosmology pioneer, author of Our Final Hour)
This is a compelling guide to the challenges and choices in our quest for a great future of life, intelligence and consciousness - on Earth and beyond. (Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors)
Being an eminent physicist and the leader of the Future of Life Institute has given Max Tegmark a unique vantage point from which to give the reader an inside scoop on the most important issue of our time, in a way that is approachable without being dumbed down. (Jaan Tallinn, co-founder of Skype)
This is an exhilarating book that will change the way we think about AI, intelligence, and the future of humanity. (Bart Selman, Professor of Computer Science, Cornell University)
Fascinating ... for sheer science fun, it's hard to beat (Stuart Russell)
'I view this conversation about the future of AI as the most important one of our time,' he writes. Life 3.0 might convince even those who believe that AI is overhyped to join in. (Clive Cookson)

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Profile Image for Craig

Absolutely awesome.

I have listened to it 3 times. Just so much wisdom and thoughtful moments. the opening scenario alone is worth the cost of the book.

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Brilliant

An inspired, thoughtful and articulate contribution to the conversation on the future of AI and life. Great performance by the narrator.

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Profile Image for Luisa

Insightful exploration of our potential AI future

Life 3.0 is a insightful exploration of the potential direction of AI. It begins with a story of a potential near future of the stealth development of a superintelligence which is provocative and sets the scene to explore in depth a comprehensive set of different perspectives and possibilities of how this exciting field will develop.
Max is pragmatic, realistic, scientific, and thorough in explaining his thoughts on an unknown future that could be wondrous or disastrous. He not only delivers a message of hope but is actively engaged in moving this field in a positive direction for the benefit of all.

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Profile Image for Anonymous User

Best answer to the pessimism of Homo Deus

There are so many future prediction books that are essentially the lovecraftian horror of real life. After reading a few, I had to keep going, looking for at least a hope of a path to genuine optimism, but kept encountering destabilizing intellectuals who philosophized everything of meaning into ash; we already have the likes of Nietzsche for that! Or other thought leaders who seemed to be burying their heads in the sand on certain topics. Even Steven Pinkner's works, while brilliant in their own right, often made dismissive strawmen of the AI concerns instead of tackling the nuances.

This is the best answer to dystopian books like Homo Deus I've read so far. Many thanks, my day is a fair bit brighter.

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inspiring book about our future

Max Tegmark prefers to focus on solutions to current and potential issues with artificial intelligence, and emphasises that may come from this. A worthwhile listen/read.

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Mandatory reading.

Read this listen to it now. Is this fifteen words yet? Nope. How about now?

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Amazing book, very thorough and informative

Goes deep in the topocs of AI looking through the physics and philosophical lens.

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fascinating

an excellent and interesting book. I was interested in AI but haven't had not read up on the topic. now I feel I have the basic concepts to move into the areas of interest in more detail.

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Profile Image for Grizzimo

The clearest breakdown of present and future A.I.

I've read a dozen books in the genre - mainly from Kurzweil and Bostrom - and Max Tegmark's is right now the clearest, most reasonable, and most relevant I know. Highly recommend.

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Profile Image for Amazon Customer

Exploration of the future of AI and hence, life.

This was a pretty through exploration. it makes connections to physics, which the arguments of what is possible is built on. Tegmark pushes the argument for AI safety research and provides solid reasoning for doing so.

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